Propaganda

News about Propaganda, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

May. 25, 2015

Op-Ed article by Profs Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman notes rise of new brand of dictator, who maintains power not through physical violence but through propaganda, censorship, material reward and bureaucracy; contends West must both understand how such regimes work and acknowledge its own role in enabling them. MORE

Apr. 16, 2015

Resignation of Voice of America director David Ensor is latest sign of turmoil at the government news agency, which is charged with presenting America's viewpoint to the world; policy experts warn organization is floundering at the exact moment when America needs to counter sophisticated propaganda from countries like China and Russia and groups like the Islamic State. MORE

Feb. 17, 2015

Center for Strategic Counterterrorism, small State Dept agency, is at center of Obama administration's plans to overhaul way that United States counteracts Islamic State's propaganda machine; administration is sponsoring days of meetings where it will showcase work already being done to combat group's propaganda on social media; overhaul is acknowledgement that too little has been done to slow ISIS's online momentum. MORE

Feb. 14, 2015

Corruption investigations at China's state television network China Central Television has led to detention of at least 15 senior executives, leaving employees on edge; network has been most powerful propaganda tool in Communist Party's arsenal; focus of inquiry is corrupt business practices and cozy relationships news anchors and executives have with party leaders; party is seizing investigation as chance to reinforce network's propaganda role. MORE

Aug. 19, 2014

China's Communist Party has devoted enormous resources to composing historical narratives that legitimize its rule and obfuscate its failures; party-run history machines is especially single-minded in its effort to promote story lines that portray ethnic minorities like Uighurs as contented. MORE

Aug. 3, 2014

News analysis; Chinese government is engaged in effort to paint Westerners as attempting to thwart China's rise, targeting multinational companies as well as individuals by employing vast army of freelance propagandists; lives of foreigners, particularly journalists, have become increasingly difficult in the country. MORE

May. 13, 2014

Ansar al-Shariah, affiliate group of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is using stream of online videos to accuse Yemeni Army and its American allies for killing bystanders in their drone attacks and military campaigns targeting suspected militants; propaganda push comes after years of Western condemnation for civilian casualties of terrorist attacks. MORE

Feb. 6, 2013

North Korean government Web site Uriminzokkiri posts propaganda video depicting Manhattan in flames and envisioning glorious future of rocket launchings and reunification of Korean peninsula; video, which seeks to capitalize on North Korea's December 12 launching of Unha-3 rocket, is part of years long effort by North to reach South Koreans and Koreans around world through Internet. MORE

Mar. 6, 2012

Chinese government's promotion of the short life of Lei Feng, iconic young soldier whose death in 1962 was used by Mao Zedong to imbue China's youth with a passion for self-sacrifice, exposes the limits of old school propaganda in the age of the Internet; campaign provokes public cynicism about a ruling party that is struggling to cultivate a sense of legitimacy. MORE